If you caught our earlier article on the various property-related announcements that were unveiled at the recent Budget 2025, you’d probably be familiar with how the government will be rolling out various measures and incentives pertaining to home ownership here in Singapore; not only to aid in mitigating the rising cost of living, but also to address perennial issues such as public housing supply, helping lower income families, and more.
More details have now been released, courtesy of the Ministry of National Development’s Committee of Supply (COS) debates━we break down all the key property-related announcements, and what you need to know.
>1,500 BTOs to be launched at new Mount Pleasant Estate
Image credit: MND
An exciting piece of news that was just unveiled is that a new residential estate━Mount Pleasant━in the Toa Payoh, Balestier and Thomson region, will be launched for sale at the October 2025 BTO exercise, with approximately 1,500 new flats up for grabs.
This will be the first of six new public housing projects planned for Mt Pleasant. Given its location, we can probably expect the flats to be classified as Plus or even Prime, owing to its central location. We can expect pretty decent competition for the flats here as well.
But where is Mount Pleasant? The estate will be located where the Old Police Academy currently is. It sits right next to the PIE, and the closest residential estate is Toa Payoh.
Image credit: Ministry of National Development
According to the MND, the estate will house residential blocks along with facilities such as an eating house, supermarket and retail shops, which are pretty much the same features as new HDB estates. It will also be within walking distance to the future Toa Payoh Integrated Development, which will be a mega sports and community complex that features the likes of sports facilities, a polyclinic, a library, and a town park.
Plus, if public transport connectivity and accessibility is a concern, then fret not: a brand new MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), aptly named Mount Pleasant, will serve this estate.
In terms of design, the new residential estate will also pay homage to the heritage of the Old Police Academy. According to the MND, the design of the estate will “sensitively incorporate the area’s rich heritage, with selected elements and buildings being conserved, integrated, or repurposed”.
The latest news is part of a broader series of announcements pertaining to public housing supply and wait times for BTOs, which have been hot-button issues as of late. At Budget 2025, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong highlighted that over 50,000 new flats will be built from 2025, in estates like Woodlands, Bayshore and Mt Pleasant. He also mentioned that the HDB has been pushing for shorter completion times for new BTOs, with a second Sale of Balance Flat exercise scheduled for later this year.
Enhanced Fresh Start Housing Scheme
Image credit: Ministry of National Development
The MND also released more details regarding enhancements to the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, which was launched in 2016 to help second-timer families to own their next home. Applicants to this scheme would have enjoyed a housing subsidy previously, but are currently living in public rental flats and have young children━among other conditions.
Presently, eligible applicants can purchase 2-room Flexi or 3-room Standard BTO flats on shorter leases, typically ranging from 55 to 65 years. These leases will last until the youngest applicant turns 95. They are also eligible for grants up to $50,000.
WIth the newly announced enhancements, the grant amount will now be raised to $75,000, comprising an initial disbursement of $60,000 credited to applicants’ CPF OA accounts before their key collection dates, with the remaining $15,000 disbursed to their OA over the next five years. This will be implemented starting from the July 2025 BTO exercise.
The scheme will also be extended to first-time home-buying families with children, who are living in public rental flats. They’ll get to buy similar flats as well, though they won’t be eligible for the $75,000 Fresh Start Housing Grant, because they would already be able to enjoy the larger, $120,000 Enhanced Housing Grant for first-timers. This will be implemented next year.
Expanded Silver Housing Bonus eligibility
From 1 December 2025, more senior citizens who right-size from a private residential property to a 3-room HDB flat or smaller will be eligible to receive the Silver Housing Bonus (SHB). Under the current rules, only seniors who own a private or HDB property with an annual value of up to $21,000 are eligible for the SHB of up to $30,000. They also have to make a cash top-up of up to $60,000 to their CPF Retirement Account (RA).
When the new rules kick in, seniors right-sizing from a private property with an annual value between $21,000 and $31,000 to a 3-room HDB flat or smaller can also receive the SHB—and they don’t need to top up their RA. If they right-size to a 2-room flat or smaller, including Community Care Apartments, seniors can get an additional cash bonus of $10,000.
COS 2025: Fresh Start Housing Scheme, Silver Housing Bonus & Mt Pleasant BTO
If you’re looking to apply for the Mt Pleasant BTO this October, we’ll definitely be updating our site with more information when we have it━and anything else that crops up in between.
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Cover image adapted from: MND Singapore
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